Vivegam's new recruit'

Lyricist Kabilan Vairamuthu’s journey into films can be an inspirational story to several determined people who want to make it big in the industry. Having started his career as an executive producer in a leading television channel, Kabilan got promoted as an anchor and hosted several shows. But his heart always leaned towards writing. Even though he was working as a lyricist part-time, he decided to quit his full-time job and plung into films.

KV Anand’s Kavan was his first film as a writer. “I met director Siva during the filming of Vedalam. That time, I didn’t think he would call me for his next project Vivegam. Later, he did and explained that he is all set to direct an international spy thriller and asked me if I was willing to be part of the story discussion and work on the script and screenplay of the ambitious project. I couldn’t miss this opportunity,” Kabilan begins his conversation.

Director Siva had the basic storyline and it was later developed into a script.
“Siva, Aadhi Narayanan and I researched for about six months and then started writing the script. I would say that I’m the new recruit in Siva’s team. I was brought on board to bring in a new perspective to the team. We all worked on the technicalities of a spy and character building,” he adds.

Kabilan’s eyes widen when he speaks about Vivek Oberoi — “He plays the second most important character after Ajith. We wanted to design the character in such a way that it was on par with the mindset of an international audience. When I met Vivek Oberoi at the shooting spot, he started talking about the legendary writer Sujatha and his collaborations with Mani Ratnam and Shankar. I was surprised and was completely taken aback. He also spoke about the significance of writers in a film.”

Speaking about Kajal’s character, he says, “I would say she is the emotion of Vivegam. She is delicate and at the same time, her inner strength is what drives the story the forward.”

The lyricist has also written two songs for the movie —Kaadhalaada and another melody number. He is currently working as a writer in three films and as a lyricist in more than 15 films.

When asked if he is interested in direction, he immediately replies, “No, I’m not interested in wielding the megaphone! I’m looking forward to collaborating with directors. I think a director-writer combo is a healthy way of filmmaking. Direction is bigger.”

What was dad Vairamuthu’s reply for Kabilan’s career choice as a writer? — “Appa liked Kavan and appreciated the dialogues I’ve written in the film. He felt that he was seeing myself on screen through the film. He said, ‘Writers do not have a defined path or work in our industry. You have to multitask and define your role.’ It was inspiring and I feel that right now I’m swimming against the stream. I’m hopeful about my career and I see a good future ahead for writers.”